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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317716">Send A Prayer To The Ones Up Above</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cliniclyInsane189/pseuds/cliniclyInsane189'>cliniclyInsane189</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Force Choking (Star Wars), Gen, The Force, Torture, Whump</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:22:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,451</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317716</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cliniclyInsane189/pseuds/cliniclyInsane189</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Aerin ends up in the tender care of the Grand Inquisitor and, later, Darth Vader himself.<br/>Needless to say, this is a very unpleasant experience (at the beginning of several long and unpleasant years).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947934</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Send A Prayer To The Ones Up Above</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>And it's the finale! Written for Whumptober 2020 Day 31 - <strong>‘Today’s Special: Torture’</strong> - Experiment | Whipped | Left For Dead<br/>If you've read the other SW fics in this series, you may be catching on to the fact that there is an overarching plot here. Am I writing it? Well, I'm trying.<br/>Even though this is a fic about torture, most of it is off-screen because I got too caught up writing the 'witty banter', or whatever you want to call it.<br/>Title from 'Believer' by Imagine Dragons</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aerin woke slowly and painfully. They knew where they were instantly, of course. They were still strapped to a ‘chair’, though it was now holding them fully upright rather than in a seated position. They didn’t know how long it had been, but they guessed it had been a while. They kept their eyes shut, feigning unconsciousness so they could assess their situation. Their head ached, though it was no longer the splitting agony they remembered from before they had passed out. They could feel the itch of dried blood on their face and neck, as well as their now-bare upper arms. Their right shoulder felt hot and swollen - they probably dislocated it themselves in their struggling earlier. Their throat was raw from screaming (mostly channelled into yelling obscenities rather than raw screams, they were pleased to recall) and their mouth was dry as a desert. Their chest ached, as did their abdomen, though the latter throbbed with the kind of pain associated with deep bruising. Their hands and feet felt vaguely numb, the former occasionally twitching involuntarily. Presumably an after-effect of the electricity.</p><p>Sensing no-one in the room at present, they flexed their fingers slowly. There didn’t seem to be any permanent damage but you could never tell with <em> Inquisitors </em>.</p><p>As if on cue, the door slid open and a sudden chill sank into the Force around them.</p><p>“I know you’re awake,” a familiar, cold voice said. </p><p>The Grand Inquisitor.</p><p>Nothing but the best for such a thorn in the Emperor’s side.</p><p>Aerin let their eyes open, slowly, and glared at the man.</p><p>“Inquisitor,” they said, their voice too low and raspy. “What a pleasure it is to be graced with your presence.”</p><p>“Ah, I see you have not lost your wit, despite your current situation.”</p><p>“What can I say? I was raised to appreciate manners.”</p><p>“And what a refreshing change that is,” the Inquisitor said, pacing across the room and coming up behind Aerin. They didn’t bother trying to track him with their gaze, instead choosing to remain perfectly still, other than the slight involuntary tremors in their arms.</p><p>“Thank you,” Aerin said, tone as level as they could make it.</p><p>“Though, I must say, your stubbornness is less pleasing. You know how to make this easier on yourself.”</p><p>“Ah, but Inquisitor,” Aerin said, letting their head fall back to rest upon cold metal and directing their gaze as close to the man as they could, “where would be the fun in that?”</p><p>To their shock, the Grand Inquisitor actually <em> laughed </em>, a sound full of cruel amusement.</p><p>“Tell me, Jedi, did you pick up this <em> habit </em> of yours from Master Itou? Or was it Kenobi?”</p><p>Aerin choked on a laugh of their own, tilting their head to the side to watch as the Inquisitor came around beside them.</p><p>“I attempt to emulate the best of both my Masters,” they said, primly. “Though I admit that Master Kenobi was more of an influence in such matters as these.” They paused. “Though, I can assure you, he was <em> far </em> worse.”</p><p>“So I have heard,” the Inquisitor said, dryly. “Now, as for why I’m here… I’m afraid you must be deprived of my company for the foreseeable future.”</p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“Yes... As I believe you mentioned during our last <em> chat </em>, the Empire reserves only the best for such distinguished guests as yourself.”</p><p>Aerin frowned.</p><p>The Grand Inquisitor was the best of the Inquisitors, and there was no way he would hand over Aerin to Imperial Intelligence <em> or </em> the ISB, not given how resistant Aerin’d already been. But then, that would mean…</p><p>Aerin felt like the bottom had just dropped out of their stomach and an icy chill - one they weren’t entirely sure was solely from fear - began to slink through their veins.</p><p>Oh no…</p><p>“So,” the Inquisitor said, a cheerful but hard malice lacing his voice, as he leaned over them, leaving his face as all they could see. “This is your last chance. Tell me what I want to know, and maybe I’ll show mercy and kill you before he arrives.”</p><p>Aerin gave a sharp grin, despite the growing dread. The spot in their mind they’d long since walled off was beginning to crack, the Dark pressing cold and insistent against their shields as the mind on the other end of the frayed (but somehow still present) bond came closer and closer.</p><p>“I appreciate the sentiment,” they said, a tremor creeping into their voice despite their best efforts. “But I fear it’s a little late for that.”</p><p>Heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor outside and the Inquisitor stepped back.</p><p>“It would seem so,” he said.</p><p>“It’s been a pleasure, Inquisitor,” Aerin said, managing to inject just enough venom into the title to make it an insult without it immediately registering as such. Master Kenobi would be proud.</p><p>The door slid open and the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. The sound of heavy, respirator assisted breathing filled the room as a black figure filled the doorway.</p><p>Ah, Kriff.</p><p>No, this situation (of their own making though it was) called for much stronger language than that.</p><p><em> Fuck </em>.</p><p>Aerin met Vader’s gaze unflinchingly, tilting their chin up with a neutral expression even as the Dark battered at their shields.</p><p>“Leave us,” the Sith said, after a too-long pause.</p><p>“Of course, My Lord,” the Inquisitor said.</p><p>The door sealing shut behind him felt like the final nail in Aerin’s coffin.</p><p>After another too-long pause, they forced their expression into an approximation of a smile.</p><p>“Lord Vader,” they said, tone thick with icy contempt, “it has been quite some time.”</p><p>For a much shorter pause, the only sound was that of heavy breathing.</p><p>“A great deal has changed since you knew me,” he said. “Though it seems you have remained much the same, despite the years. You still cling to the Light as though it can save you.” Vader took the few steps between Aerin’s position and the door.</p><p>Aerin’s stomach clenched as the Sith reached out and placed a leather-gloved hand on the side of their bare neck, forcing their chin up with his thumb firmly but surprisingly gently.</p><p>“But I know better,” Vader continued. “Even back then you toed the line between Dark and Light - it would not take much for you to give in to the Dark Side.”</p><p>This was going better than they could have hoped, though they could not afford to reveal such an opinion.</p><p>“There’s a great difference between toeing the line and crossing it, <em> My Lord </em>,” Aerin said, keeping up the facade of polite conversation, though not bothering to hide their venomous tone. “Perhaps we could get to the point - is this an interrogation or a recruitment pitch?”</p><p>Vader’s hand clenched on their jaw then relaxed and moved to grip their shoulder. Their uninjured one, thankfully, though they doubted it would stay that way for long.</p><p>“I care little for what the Inquisitor wanted,” Vader replied. “It is of no tactical value, in the long term.” </p><p>The hand on their shoulder clenched, causing the joint to grind painfully.</p><p>“I have been permitted by my Master to turn you as something more than a mere Inquisitor,” he said.</p><p><em>Careful, Vader, someone might think you’re getting sentimental,</em> Aerin thought.</p><p>“You had better hope, for your sake, that I succeed in doing so before we reach Coruscant.”</p><p>The implicit threat sent a thrill of panic through them.</p><p>Before they reached Coruscant. Coruscant and the Emperor.</p><p>“Well,” they said, breathless. “I suppose you’d better get started, Lord Vader. I’d hate to make this easy for you.”</p><p>The Sith Lord’s anger pressed on their mind like an avalanche - cold and heavy and sudden - as he released their shoulder and straightened up, stepping back as he did.</p><p>“As you wish,” he said.</p><p>Then he reached out and clenched his hand into a fist and Aerin felt a crushing pressure around their throat.</p><p>They choked on nothing, their vision going spotty, and they took what was possibly their last moment of (mental) relief for a very long time to shore up the shielding deepest within their mind, where they kept their most precious secrets.</p><p>Vader could not reach there.</p><p><em> Sidious </em> could not reach there.</p><p>Aerin <em> would </em> endure. They would endure just long enough to make it believable and then a bit longer - because, like all good Shadows, they would complete their mission no matter the cost.</p><p>The pressure on their throat relaxed and they sagged against their restraints, dragging in deep breaths as the dizziness began to recede.</p><p>This was only the beginning. They had to have patience.</p><p>They had to endure.</p><p>They <em> would </em> endure.</p><p>There was too much at stake for them not to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed!<br/>My writing tumblr is at h2-oh-fic, so that's where to go if you want to chat about my fic, my ocs, my aus or whatever.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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